The Wilderness Adventures of Dasantil Hysi

This was my first complete solo game that I played in May of 2019, a month before I joined GP. I used Scarlet Heroes, a hex map and a few mini's I had painted. I really had fun with it. I highly recommend Scarlet Heroes.


Part 1

Dasantil Hysi, woke up tired. He had spent long weeks trekking from the shogunate of the north, heading home from a successful trading mission, laden with goods and unusual trinkets. He had returned to the usual accolades from the townspeople of Samran, who eked out a simple but relatively peaceful life in the small Eshkanti village of Ektau. Desantil was an unusually successful trader because, despite "facts" to the contrary, he had some Shou blood which enabled him to pass through small pockets of Shou bandits and enter Shou country proper, to trade for goods not found anywhere else. He had a small contingent of constructs that carried his goods.

As he had his morning meal, he realized that he would have to forge a new path on his next trek because the route was becoming congested, and as a result, bandits were hiding in various hilly passes and robbing the supply caravans. His two constructs, one of his better trades from Tien Lung, did not need to eat or sleep and could fight when called upon. He had seen what looked like the rough beginnings of another trail on his approach to the village and made a note to go on a small scouting mission early the next day.

After another night of much-needed rest, Dasantil grabbed his pack with some basic provisions and weapons and headed out alone for a day of exploration. He reached the makeshift trail and followed it.

It started getting hilly and a forest was beckoning. The cool shade will be nice, he thought. But before he reached the forest, he came upon a blind canyon with no way to cross. He scraped around in the dirt to see if there were any signs of activity but found none and turned around looking for a possibly missed trail. He eventually found his way around the canyon and came upon a cave, which luckily was empty, and set up camp for the night, eating his only rations. He would have to hunt tomorrow. Setting out at first light, avoiding the forest for the sake of an easy-going trail, he trekked on. But it suddenly became perilously hot and he found himself becoming sun struck. This was a terrible setback! He headed back to the cave to recuperate. He was down and out for 4 days.

He had to hunt in his weakened state and was feeling pretty depressed at this failed trailblazing attempt so soon into the journey. Perhaps he should have brought a construct.

Eventually, he managed to shoot a tiny rabbit which was all he could manage in his current condition and headed back to the cave to rest. He started out again, crossed another plain, and began to feel a little better. He came upon yet another cave and entered to cool down and take a short break. He spied what looks like a mineral vein on one of the walls of the cave. Further examination showed that it was indeed a vein of some sort and so he made a note to investigate further on a future trip.

With spirits lifted somewhat from this discovery, he continued on his journey and entered a thick forest. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a deer-like creature, nosing around in the underbrush. He raised his bow and let an arrow loose. It was a good hit. He settled in to remove the hide and cut up the meat. He decided to stash the hide in the cave and bring what meat he could carry. He had food for 4 days.

The next day he found enough space between the trees for a path and continued on, noting the features as he walked for his new trading route. But off in the distance, he heard a rustling and took cover behind an old gnarled tree. He saw a vision of beauty. A creature that would have little reason to be in the deep woods surely, unless.... and he found himself remembering tavern stories about the Diwata. These forest dwellers rarely showed their true form and could take whatever shape they wished. This must be one of those creatures! The Diwata let him approach and appeared to be annoyed.



He tried not to fall under its spell of radiant beauty. He knew that they could be very dangerous. He told it his purpose. He pointed out that he was respectful of its woods, but it seemed to already know that and let him pass unhindered.

But he wasn't so lucky the next day. He stepped out into a small clearing and saw a tiger at the same time the tiger saw him. He had just enough time to ready his bow.



He got behind a rock for cover, knocked an arrow, and shot. But it glanced off a leaf and missed! The leopard ran towards him and he ducked. He yanked out his greatsword and gashed the tiger's leg as he leaped towards him over the rock. The leopard snarled in pain and glanced at his wound. This split-second allowed Desantil to run behind a nearby tree. He quickly knocked another arrow and took a shot. He hit the cat in the chest and it dropped with a thump, but it had not yet succumbed. Desantil carefully crept over to him, pulled out his greatsword, and with a loud thwack, delivered the killing blow, severing the cat’s neck. Desantil slumped to the ground, blood-covered and exhausted.

Part II

It had been an eventful reconnaissance journey already. But anxious to keep blazing what he hoped would be a better trade route, he moved off into the hilly forest. He only had 2 days of food left so he would have to hunt again. After a few miles of hilly woods, he heard a low growl. Not again, he thought. But of course, he knew the wilds were exactly that. What did he expect? It was a group of 4 Shou Bugbear. And Shou recognize Shou. That’s why Dasantil could enter territories others could not. They looked very receptive so Dasantil approached confidently. They could just as easily have been hostile, as Shou hate humans, and half-humans even more.
The bears had promised their Shou leaders that they would find the minerals that have been rumored to be found in caves dotted around the forests. The Shou party shared that they had investigated several caves and had found nothing. At this, Desantil realized he had a bargaining advantage. Perhaps in exchange for access to trade in the Shou lands, he could offer them the location of such a cave. Indeed he could ask them about their route to this point and perhaps they could arrange safe passage for him to their land. He could bring all manner of goods that enter his city by ship that the Shou would not have access to because of their fear of the water. It was decided that one bear would accompany Desantil to the Shou lands and the others would go to the cave that had the mineral vein.

Part III
Arrival at the Shou city of Trà Tàu and the Caves

Desantil arrived at the Shou village of Trà Tàu. The bear kept him safe from suspicious and prying villager’s eyes. He abruptly stopped at the doorway of the Lying Stew Inn. "You can rest up here and get some food. We will have a task for you in the morning to prove your trustworthiness."

The next morning, the same Shou bear approached and without ceremony told Desantil about a cave that descended down under the earth. He would need to find the Old One, who inhabited the lair, and slay her. She often used dark magic to send minions above ground to harass and kill Shou villagers. If he survived, he could keep any treasure he found and would have done the people of Trà Tàu a great service. No Shou were brave enough to enter the cave. In return he would be able to move freely and trade in all of the Shou territories, a huge expanse, forever. Desantil dreamt about the riches he would realize if he succeeded at this task and the way he saw it, he didn’t really have a choice. He doubted the Shou villagers would let him leave. He checked his supplies and with some degree of trepidation and excitement, followed the path he was given.

He lit his torch and entered the small stony opening. He was struck with a sudden claustrophobia, while his nose was assaulted with a dank and musty odor. Fresh clean air was all Desantil had ever known. Mustering his courage, wiping beads of sweat from his forehead, he moved on. He came upon a wide gallery with a high ceiling thick with long, dark, stalactites. The large room eased his panic considerably. The air even freshened a bit. "What was that!" He saw something stir in the shadows.Not something, some THINGS!" Desantil readied his great sword but hesitated. They didn’t look particularly fierce. Perhaps they could be bribed. "I come in peace", he said." I have some gold if you will let me pass now and upon my return". They laughed as if to say there would be no return. They looked at me, waiting. I rummaged around in my backpack and withdrew a few gold coins. I pitched three at them and wasting no time headed to the other side of the gallery. He entered a room with a dark pool of green, still water. A startled, hungry looking ghost, glowing with a phosphorescent haze, peered at me from the other side. This is a pretty busy dungeon, Desantil thought, as he again grabbed his bow and knocked an arrow, wondering if it would just pass right through the thing. But then he noticed it taking on bits of a human form, decided things were looking up and let an arrow loose.It was a shot right through something that looked like a heart, and with a blood curdling shriek, the ghost turned into a pool of liquid and disappeared, leaving some jewelry and a few gold pieces on the ground, which might come in handy later. Some poor soul’s wealth no doubt, he thought.

Spoiler (click to reveal)
Roll location=round room; roll special features examples=furnishings made of parts of human prey; roll nature of feature=item of info, book or note; roll inanimate feature quality=spell triggered

Moving forward Desantil entered a circular chamber with shiny translucent vines hanging from the ceiling. His breath caught. Interspersed between these vines, were bits of human body parts adorning the walls. There was a musty book, carelessly thrown against the wall. Curious but afraid, he approached to investigate. A trap was sprung on the wall to the right of the book, throwing darts in Desantil’s direction.He instinctively dropped to the floor and rolled away, as the darts whizzed passed him within inches of his head. "I hope this book was worth that", he thought. He examined the book, but didn’t see anything earth shattering, in fact it looked like another pour soul’s diary. Perhaps it belonged to the same person whose jewelry he now had. He stashed it in his back pack anyway. Maybe it will prove to be important later. He pressed on deeper into the cave and emerged in a domed cavern. He had barely entered the room when five hissing creatures blocked further progress. They were very angry lizardmen! But what would creatures such as these be doing underground?This would surely be a losing battle, so he mustered up all his charisma, which admittedly wasn’t much, and tried avoiding a fight. He noticed several humanoid features among the beasts. A human arm on one, a human body but a forked tongue on another. He asked how they came to be here since their natural environment was generally swamps or jungles. Surprised at Desantil’s lack of aggression, the forked tongue told him they had been hunted out of the jungle and had taken refuge here in the hopes that the Old One wouldn’t discover them. Desantil told them he would hold his unforked tongue if they let him pass and explained that his quest was to kill the Old One. He asked if they would help in exchange for unfettered access to the caves. He watched their little lizard brains whirring as they weighed their options. Six against one’s a charm and so it was decided that they would press on together.

The next room was a water-smoothed cave with a low ceiling and lurking in the shadows were six shapes that were hard to discern in the flickers of the torchlight against the wall. They prepared for battle but not before noticing a scroll neatly wedged by a small rock in front of us. Desantil made a mental note to investigate if they survived this. As the features of the minions got clearer, they realized that they would probably be a small threat.continuing....

In this installment I used some other solo methods....

The battle turned out to be bloodier than expected despite Desantil hitting 2 minions with his one arrow! Eventually, all minions were annihilated but Desantil was bitten by one of them. He ripped a piece of cloth from his shirt and staunched the blood flow. They immediately investigated the scroll and to their delight, found that it was magical! Desantil, having no magical powers wouldn’t be able to use it but surely it would fetch a great price once he made it back to the village. IF he made it back to the village.

Caves

With the minions dead it was now up to Desantil to slay the Old One which was certainly easier said than done. But he had succeeded against the odds so far so why not try and carry his luck forward.

Forging ahead into the next room, he found another domed chamber and still no Old One. But he did see a small sac half-buried in the dirt containing 20 gp, 3 cracked gems and 5 pieces of shiny jewelry. Perhaps the Old One stashed such things in various chambers rather than keeping it all in one place. He threw it into his pack in case he had to make a hasty exit or if there was another way out. Feeling lucky he kept moving forward.

Hearing a scraping sound he stopped short and peered through the opening. It was the Old One! She was scraping a dish with food but she didn’t look very old. He had heard tales of Lansyars, the undead result of the childbirth death of a young mother and her child, but he had never seen one. Few had. She had long luxuriant hair concealing the fanged maw at the nape of her neck. She was quite striking. But these Lansyars drank the blood of infants.

But he had found her at last. It sensed Desantil and scuttled quickly to a defensible position behind some rocks. He briefly wondered if the conversation was possible and perhaps an agreement could be hashed out where food would be brought to it in exchange for it leaving the villagers alone. But that would only work if he had the upper hand, but what if the Old One didn’t want to fight.

He shouts, "Wait! Let’s not fight. Let’s talk." She speaks Shou and does indeed wait. He mentions the agreement he had formulated in his head and all this was presuming the villagers would be ok with it.The beast approaches slowly, head tilted as if confused. "You don’t want to slay me?"

"No, I’d rather sort this out with dialogue. The villagers hate you because you take their children and others. Why not let them bring you food and in exchange you leave them alone?"

The beast contemplates this and agrees but asks about the blood it needs. "Can you come with me then and if not give me something that will prove to the villagers that we have a deal otherwise they will kill me. I was supposed to bring you to them dead."

The beast agreed. She had an old Shou, relic that no one could ever have without it being given freely as it has a curse to those that take it by force.

"Do they have sheep? I can drink lamb’s blood although it's not as good as that from children. But at least I won’t be constantly hunted."
"Yes, they do have sheep as I have at home." Home. He hadn’t been there in so long.

With that settled, Desantil told the beast he would be back soon with offerings. Then he turned back. "I never asked your name. Do you have one?" The beast turned back and with a far oof look in her eyes said, "Quifla. That was my name."

On the way out of the cave, Desantil took the valuables he had found as close to the village as he dares and buried them under a rock that he could find again. Then he went on into the village.He told the story and showed the villagers the artifact as proof. It seemed as though they were not all convinced and there even some gathering support to take him, prisoner.But most of the villagers were inclined to listen to Desantil. He had braved the cave and persuaded the beast to leave them alone. Desantil gave the villagers the totem since he had plenty of riches of his own from the cave and now he had opened the trade route to a vast market. He spent the night but left early the next day, excited to tell his village.

The End

Since this story is complete, feel free to comment here or ask questions.

Do you think Scarlet Heroes is also suitable for longer campaigns?

Absolutely. It can go as long as you want. There's nothing stopping you. The rules are just a vehicle to enable you to have a solo adventure with surprises around every corner.